According to the company
Boeing is "the world's leading aerospace company and the largest
manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined.
Boeing designs and manufactures rotorcraft, electronic and defense
systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information
and communication systems. As a major service provider to NASA, Boeing
operates the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. ... Boeing
has customers in more than 90 countries around the world and is one of
the largest U.S. exporters in terms of sales."

Headquartered in Chicago, Boeing employs more than 150,000 people
across the United States and in 70 countries, with major operations in
the Puget Sound area of Washington State, southern California and St.
Louis. Total company revenues for 2006 were $61.5 billion.

Boeing is one of the largest U.S. federal defense contractors. Its
has traditionally also been willing to make huge gambles on developing
new generations of planes--seen most recently in the 777 series that
will become available in the mid-1990s.

Former
CEO Harry Stonecipher was ousted on March 6, 2006, after it was
revealed that he had a relationship with a female vice-president at
Boeing. The "Palm Springs fling," as it became known at the company,
followed a three-year stretch of widely publicized corporate
misbehavior highlighted by the jailing of Boeing's former CFO, for
holding illegal job negotiations with Darlene Druyun, a senior Pentagon
official; the indictment of a Boeing manager for allegedly stealing
25,000 pages of proprietary documents from his Lockheed Martin (his
former employer), and a judicial finding that Boeing had abused
attorney-client privilege to help cover up internal studies showing
that female employees were paid less than men.

As Business Week put it,
"Scandals involving multiple forms of misconduct in geographically
scattered lcoations enveloped nearly every division at Boeing, leaving
little doubt that the legendary company, even as it began to enjoy a
cyclical boom, was plagued by a poisonous culture."

Labor:

Like
all the major aerospace companies, Boeing has been less than
enthusiastic about the unionization of its employees. The International
Association of Machinists did, however, eventually succeed in winning
collective bargaining rights for many of the company's production
workers.

The bargaining power of the Machinists has fluctuated with the
erratic condition of the aircraft market. During the uncertainties of
the early 1980s Boeing, along with competitors, got a lot tougher at
the bargaining table. In 1983 the Machinists signed a contract with
Boeing that substituted lump-sum payments for wage increases and
instituted a two-tier pay structure. The pact prompted other companies
to demand concessions. The industry was booming in 1986, but Boeing
again got the Machinists to take lump sums instead of increases in base
pay.

In 1989, while the company was flooded with orders and falling
behind in filling them, the Machinists went on strike to pressure the
company to make up for the six years without an increase in the base
wage. The workers--many of whom welcomed the strike as a respite from
exhausting amounts of mandatory overtime--stayed out for 48 days and
then accepted a settlement that included both lump-sum payments and
moderate increases in base pay.

With between 157,000 and 180,000 employees (depending on who you
ask), Boeing is almost always involved in labor negotiations. The
company's contracts extend from a four-member bargaining unit in
Antelope Valley, Calif., to a 1,711-strong United Autoworkers Union
local in Philadelphia, Pa. Its two biggest contracts are with the
International Association of Machinists District Lodge 751 and the
Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.

Environment and product safety:

In
1990 a federal jury found that the company did not knowingly dump toxic
material in dump sites in the 1950s and 1960s but concluded that the
company had done so in the following decade. Boeing thus was found
partially responsible for the clean-up of two heavily contaminated
sites in Washington.

In 1990 the company also settled a class action lawsuit brought on
behalf of 700 people who had allegedly been hired by Boeing for jobs
that involved exposure to electromagnetic pulse radiation and were
monitored for health effects without their knowledge. The lead
plaintiffs' counsel charged that the 700 persons were used as human
research subjects without their consent. The settlement, in which
Boeing admitted no wrongdoing, involved payment of $500,000 in cash and
an annuity to the family of one employee who claimed that he developed
leukemia as a result of the exposure. The company also agreed to pay
for regular medical examinations over ten years for the other class
members, who reserved the right to bring claims for compensation if
they develop adverse health effects.

In 1991 U.S. EPA fined the company $620,475 for improper storage of
hazardous wastes and deficiencies in its training practices regarding
toxics. That same year the company was sued by a group of employees who
charged that Boeing had concealed the dangers of a substance (Ferro
CPH2284P) they were exposed to on the job.

Anti-competitive and consumer protection:

Boeing's
position as a military contractor was tarnished in 1989, when it
pleaded guilty and paid a fine of $5 million in connection with charges
that it illegally obtained classified Pentagon planning documents.

Subsidy Disputes

In 2004 the US and the EU agreed to discuss a possible revision of
the 1992 EU-US Agreement on Large Civil Aircraft provided that this
would cover all forms of subsidies including those used in the US, and
in particular the subsidies for the Boeing 787. The 787 was the first
new aircraft to be launched by Boeing in 14 years.

In October of 2004, the US requested a WTO consultation on European
investments in Airbus. At the same time, the US unilaterally withdrew
from the 1992 EU-US Agreement. The WTO complaint claimed that Airbus
violated the 1992 bilateral accord when it received what Boeing deemed
to be “unfair” subsidies from several European governments. The EU
retaliated by filing its own complaint, contesting that the U.S.
violated the accord when by providing tax breaks to Boeing. On January
11, 2005, Boeing and Airbus agreed that they would attempt to find a
solution to the dispute outside of the WTO, but in June 2005, Boeing
and the United States government reopened the trade dispute with the
WTO, claiming that Airbus had received illegal subsidies from European
governments.

Brief company history:

William
Boeing formed the "Pacific Aero Products Co." in 1916, following the
flight of one of two "B&W" seaplanes built with the assistance of
George Conrad Westervelt, a U.S. Navy engineer. The company changed its
name to "Boeing Airplane Company" the following year. The company sold
its first plane to the government of New Zealand.

Boeing's firm trained flight instructors during the First World War
and was one of the few postwar survivors from among the slew of
aircraft companies that sprang up to meet the enormous needs of the
U.S. and Allied armed forces. The Coolidge administration moved to
assist the development of the industry by setting long-term aircraft
procurement plans for the army and navy and by encouraging the growth
of private carriers through the awarding of lucrative airmail
contracts. Among those carriers was Boeing, who won a contract to
shuttle mail between Chicago and San Francisco under the name Boeing
Air Transport Co.

The new climate brought with it a spate of mergers. Boeing joined in
the fun, acquiring several small carriers, and in 1928 he formed a
holding company called Boeing Aircraft and Transportation Co. The
following year it became part of a larger holding company, United
Aircraft and Transportation, that also included various carriers, the
Pratt & Whitney engine business, and other operations. Boeing, who
was named chairman of this company, went on to grow quite wealthy by
exchanging his stock with the holding company--a process that came
under Congressional scrutiny in 1933. An irate Boeing retired from the
company and sold his holdings.

The consolidation of the industry that had been promoted by
Postmaster Walter Folger Brown came under attack after the Roosevelt
administration took office. Senator Hugo Black led the charge, which
resulted in the passage of the Air Mail Act of 1934. The law
established a (short lived) ban on private transport of airmail and a
more permanent requirement that aircraft producers and air transport
companies be separated from one another.

This resulted in the United holding company being split into three
independent firms: United Air Lines, Boeing Aircraft in the Northwest,
and East Coast-based United Aircraft (renamed United Technologies in
1975), which included Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky Aviation, a
pioneer in helicopters.

The aircraft industry expanded during the 1930s, despite the
Depression, thanks to the growth of the airlines. Boeing first took the
lead with the development of its 247, 60 of which were ordered by
United Air Lines. But then Douglas Aircraft, at the request of TWA,
created the DC-1, the first of its highly successful DC (Douglas
Commercial) series. Boeing, meanwhile, was one of the firms involved in
producing the famous "flying boats," the huge planes commissioned by
Juan Trippe of Pan American to fly across oceans and alight on water
where there were no airfields.

When wartime mobilization began, Boeing began producing hundreds of
B-17 Flying Fortresses for the army. A later model, the B-29, was the
plane used in the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in 1945. The company also produced a series of bombers,
including the renowned B-52.

After the war Boeing set out to challenge the domination of the
civilian aircraft market by Douglas. The result was the Boeing 707,
introduced in 1954. That plane put Boeing in an intense contest with
Douglas for the loyalties of the airlines of the world. Douglas was
prompted to develop the DC-8, but Boeing gained the lead in the new jet
planes and solidified it with the introduction of the 727 in 1964.

The development of fan-jet engines, stimulated by the Pentagon's
interest in building the huge C-5A cargo planes, made possible
substantially larger commercial aircraft as well. Juan Trippe of Pan Am
essentially decided to bet the company on the idea and enlisted Boeing
to produce planes with 350 or more seats that would become known as the
747. The purchase agreement for 25 of the jumbo jets was signed in 1966.

The 747 eventually helped usher in a new era of mass airline travel,
but the orders were slow in coming in. This put an enormous strain on
Boeing's resources, coming as it did when the company was also involved
in developing a supersonic transport (a project the company abandoned
after Congress ending its financial support). Boeing survived the
squeeze and went on to develop a new generation of planes that met the
demand for aircraft that could carry up to about 250 passengers.

The market for these planes, designated as wide-body, was already
being met by Lockheed with its L-1011s and the DC-10 from Douglas. A
new player on the scene was Airbus Industries, a consortium formed by
British, French, German, and Spanish aerospace companies. Its first
product, the A300, managed to seize a fifth of the international
commercial aircraft market by the end of the 1970s.

Once Boeing introduced its new narrow-body 757 and wide-body 767 in
the early 1980s, the Seattle company once again took command of the
market. As a result the teetering Lockheed, which in the 1970s had been
rescued by a federal government bailout program, abandoned the
commercial aircraft business in 1981.

This new climate was not without its drawbacks for Boeing. Having
spent years and massive sums of money developing new fuel-efficient
technologies, aerospace companies were now finding that the new
cheapness of oil was making airlines less concerned about fuel costs.
This was a particular blow for Boeing, which (along with engine-maker
General Electric) was spending several billion dollars developing a new
type of engine to be used on its belated entry into the 150-seat
market. The project, which Boeing called the 7J7, involved an unducted
fan engine, a device that made use of external fan blades that looked
suspiciously like propellers but which was designed to burn one-third
to two-thirds less fuel than existing engines.

Boeing decided to share the risk and the development cost of the
plane with a group of Japanese companies, which were eager to gain
access to U.S. aerospace technology. (Those companies have since the
late 1970s been major suppliers for Boeing's 767.) Yet the slump in
fuel prices and planning problems caused Boeing to delay the project
indefinitely.

The Reagan administration's escalation of defense spending fattened
the military side of Boeing's operations. In addition to getting more
money to build its AWACS airborne command posts, the company began to
get more involved in military electronics--though not as much as it
hoped to when making a $5 billion bid in 1985 for Hughes Aircraft.
Hughes ended up with General Motors instead.

McDonnell Douglas, the product of a 1967 merger of Douglas and the
military contractor McDonnell Aircraft, found itself facing intensified
competition from Boeing and Airbus in the late 1980s. For customers
wanting to replace aging DC-10s with a longer-range widebody, McDonnell
Douglas developed the MD-11, which fit between Boeing's 747 jumbo jets
and its 200-250-seat 767. Boeing, however, responded by downsizing the
747 and stretching the 767.

During the same period Airbus--which in 1986 began to receive
serious acceptance from U.S. airlines for its A320 medium-range
plane--brought out a long-range A340 to compete directly with the
MD-11. Able to price aggressively because of its government subsidies,
Airbus began to take market share from McDonnell Douglas while making
Boeing uneasy. In early 1988 Boeing strengthened its position by
introducing new versions of the 747 and the medium-range 737. These
received an enthusiastic response from airlines, and the company's
10-year-old midsize 757s also began to catch on. By 1989 the main
challenge for Boeing was keeping up with the flood of orders.

The company was also busy developing and promoting a new
long-distance, 350-seat plane called the 777. Yet the fact that the
twin-engine plane would not be available at least until 1995 was
causing some potential customers to turn to alternative products from
McDonnell Douglas and Airbus. In October 1990, however, United Airlines
showed its faith in Boeing by placing a whopping $22 billion order for
68 of the 777s--the largest aircraft order ever made. Not willing to
concede defeat, Airbus began talking with airlines about building the
largest planes in the world, capable of holding 600 passengers. Boeing,
in turn, began to consider producing a "superjumbo" of its own.

Boeing's military business also began to surge again. In 1991 a team
headed by Boeing and the Sikorsky Aircraft division of United
Technologies was chosen to build a new generation of combat helicopters
for the U.S. Army. The contract could eventually be worth $34 billion.
Boeing was also part of a team (along with Lockheed and General
Dynamics) chosen to supply 650 Advanced Tactical Fights to the U.S. Air
Force--a deal that could be worth $90 billion to the three companies.
The Seattle company joined yet another team (including Grumman and
Lockheed) to compete for the contract on the U.S. Navy's new A-X attack
plane. In 1991 Boeing formed an alliance with the Thomson-CSF
subsidiary of Thomson S.A. to pursue opportunities in global military
markets.

In May 2005, Boeing announced its intent to form a joint venture,
United Launch Alliance with its competitor Lockheed Martin. The new
venture will be the largest provider of rocket launch services to the
US government. The joint venture gained regulatory approval and
completed the formation on December 1, 2006.

Financial information

Detailed financial information

Stock ticker symbol: BA

Total revenue: $61.5 billion

Fiscal year: 2006

Net Income: $2.2 billion

Fiscal year: 2006

Major lines of business/segments:

Boeing
is organized into two business units: Boeing Commercial Airplanes and
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. In addition, the company also
includes Boeing Capital Corporation (financing division), the Shared
Services Group and Boeing Engineering, Operations & Technology,
which helps develop, acquire, apply and protect innovative technologies
and processes.

U.S.-E.U.: WTO rules Boeing got $5B in illegal US subsidiesby John Heilprin, Associated PressMarch 12th, 2012The World Trade Organization ruled that U.S. planemaker Boeing received $5.3 billion in illegal government subsidies over a quarter-century. Airbus and Boeing have both complained to the WTO that the other is receiving state aid. They are locked in a long-running trade dispute over a market believed to be worth more than $3 trillion over the next decade.

Spies for Hire: New Online Database of U.S. Intelligence Contractorsby Tim Shorrock, Special to CorpWatch November 16th, 2009CorpWatch joins with Tim Shorrock today, the first journalist to blow the whistle on the privatization of U.S. intelligence, in releasing Spies for Hire.org, a groundbreaking database focusing on the dozens of corporations that provide classified intelligence services to the United States government.

US: Contracting Boom Could Fizzle Outby Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post April 7th, 2009The surge in the U.S. military contracting workforce would ebb under Defense Secretary Gates's budget proposal as the Pentagon moves to replace private workers with full-time civil servants. The move could affect companies such as CACI and SAIC. "We are right-sizing the defense acquisition workforce so we can improve our contract oversight and get a better deal for the taxpayers," said the Pentagon's director of defense procurement and acquisition policy.

US: Gates Proposes Major Changes to Military Programs, Weapons Buysby August Cole, Wall Street Journal April 6th, 2009Defense Secretary Robert Gates unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the Pentagon's top weapons priorities. The shake-up, a combination of defense contract cutbacks and policy changes, will stoke a smoldering debate in Congress, with cuts proposed for Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-22 Raptor and replacement of the president's fleet of Marine One helicopters.

US: Pentagon Weighs Cuts and Revisions of Weaponsby Christopher Drew, New York Times April 3rd, 2009U.S. defense executives and consultants are worried about the sweeping changes in military programs that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to announce on Monday. Weapons systems like missile defense are likely to endure deep cuts.

US: The Looming Crisis at the Pentagonby Chalmers Johnson, TomDispatch.comFebruary 2nd, 2009Like much of the rest of the world, Americans know that the U.S. automotive industry is in the grips of what may be a fatal decline. A similar crisis exists when it comes to the military-industrial complex. That crisis has its roots in the corrupt and deceitful practices that have long characterized the high command of the Armed Forces, civilian executives of the armaments industries, and Congressional opportunists and pay-to-play criminals.

US: 2nd Walkout at Boeing in 3 Years
by MICHELINE MAYNARD, The New York Times September 6th, 2008The Boeing Company, whose order books are bulging with demand for its planes, was hit by its second major strike in three years early Saturday, when the union that represents 27,000 machinists in Washington State, Oregon and Kansas walked off the job.

US: Former Colo. nuke plant contractors ordered to pay $925MAPJune 3rd, 2008Two companies that worked as contractors with the now-defunct Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant have been ordered to pay $925 million to residents who claimed that contamination blown from the facility endangered people's health and devalued their property.

US: Holes in the Wall
by Melissa del Bosque, The Texas ObserverFebruary 18th, 2008As the U.S. Department of Homeland Security marches down the Texas border serving condemnation lawsuits to frightened landowners, Brownsville resident Eloisa Tamez, 72, has one simple question. She would like to know why her land is being targeted for destruction by a border wall, while a nearby golf course and resort remain untouched.

US: A Mission to Rebuild Reputationsby Dana Hedgpeth, Washington PostJanuary 17th, 2008Now those promises -- and the public's perception of the Air Force's ability to spend its money prudently -- are being tested by new contracting and public relations challenges. The Air Force is about to award two key contracts worth a total of about $55 billion, and Boeing is in the running for both deals.

Domestic Spying, Inc.by Tim Shorrock , Special to CorpWatch November 27th, 2007A new U.S. intelligence institution will allow government spy agencies to conduct broad surveillance and reconnaissance inside the country for the first time. Contractors like Boeing, BAE Systems, Harris Corporation, L-3 Communications and Science Applications International Corporation are already lining up for possible work.

INDIA: Building a Modern Arsenal in Indiaby Heather Timmons and Somini Sengupta, The New York TimesAugust 31st, 2007India is developing a military appetite to match its growing economic power. With a ballooning arms budget, India will soon become one of the largest military markets in the world, making it an important new target for American arms manufacturers.

US: Muslim Says He Was Abducted By U.S.by Armen Keteyian and Phil Hirschkorn., CBS NewsNovember 28th, 2006Khaled El-Masri says he is not after money but answers about why he spent five months in harsh captivity as a prisoner in the war on terrorism.

US: Magazine ad "unleashes hell" for Boeing and Bellby Hal Bernton, The Seattle TimesOctober 1st, 2005Boeing and its joint-venture partner Bell Helicopter apologized yesterday for a magazine ad published a month ago - and again this week by mistake - depicting U.S. Special Forces troops rappelling from an Osprey aircraft onto the roof of a mosque.

Boeing Scandal Part of Deeper Problems at Pentagonby David Phinney, Special to CorpWatchJanuary 5th, 2005Military contractors like Boeing, Halliburton and Lockheed, have become increasingly embedded with the Pentagon bureaucrats who give them lucrative work as the jailing of Darleen Druyun, a former U.S. Air Force weapons buyer, demonstrates.